Rafael Leao was really upset by the jeers he received from the AC Milan fans after exiting the game against Udinese, according to a report.
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Leao didn’t exactly have the best evening, named as the flop by most newspapers and also by us, with basically nothing going his way. He struggled with his positioning as a centre-forward and when he was moved to left-wing, the end product just wasn’t there.
So, when Massimiliano Allegri decided to take him off in favour for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 77th minute, there was loud jeers and booes from the Milan fans. In fact, it was at a level that we haven’t seen at San Siro for a long time for an individual player (not the team as a whole).
Criticism as fuel? Likely not
According to Manuele Baiocchini of Sky Italia (via Il Garante), however, this will probably not act as fuel for the No.10. The journalist described him as a ‘very moody guy’ and because of that, he was ‘really upset’ by the jeers from the fans. In other words, the jeers didn’t do any good to him or Milan.
Of course, you could argue that it’s part of being a footballer; sometimes you are booed and sometimes you are celebrated. Anyone who has seen Leao’s tenure at Milan will agree with Baiocchini though, he’s definitely a player who tends to perform when in a good mood.